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How-To
Day on the lake: Shane LeHew
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Early September 2020: A vaccine for the coronavirus may still be in developmental stages, but the sport of bass fishing recently received a tremendous shot in the arm thanks to ESPN2âs televised coverage of several recent Elite Series tournaments. Millions of viewers, many of whom had never been exposed to bass fishing before, were glued to their sets watching pro anglers battle bass, the clock, rough water and each other. Mere ounces often separated the top competitors, and the lead changed virtually every time a fish was boated. Among the cadre of young pros who dominated much of the televised action was North Carolinaâs Shane LeHew. âThe TV coverage of our summer Elite tournaments, especially the Northern Swing events, was awesome, but it put a lot more pressure on us anglers to perform,â he recalls. No worries there for the Baby Shark. While he had previously been quoted as favoring shallow water and lacking confidence in fishing offshore, LeHew placed 16th at Lake Champlain (New York) and seventh at Lake St. Clair (Michigan), mostly by targeting structure far from the bank. âIâve learned you have to be proficient in every style of bass fishing if you even hope to compete in the Elites,â LeHew admits. Hop aboard LeHewâs boat as he uses his skills at offshore angling to catch bass in what is traditionally one of the toughest times of year: the summer/fall transition.6:32 a.m. Itâs 78 degrees and cloudy when we arrive at Lake Xâs deserted boat ramp. LeHew preps his rig for launching. âA monster thunderstorm hit last night just as I pulled into my motel,â he says as he wipes down the Rangerâs soggy seats. âI never ever saw so much lightning! September is a transitional month â some bass are usually shallow while others are still on their deep summer pattern. If that lightning didnât spook âem, I should be able to catch some fish up shallow on topwaters. This thick cloud cover is supposed to start clearing out around late morning; then Iâll probably move offshore.â
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7 HOURS LEFT6:50 a.m. We launch the Ranger. LeHew evaluates the water: Itâs 80 degrees and stained. He pulls an arsenal of Abu Garcia rods from storage; two are rigged with surface lures. âHopefully, I can catch a big fish early on top.â 6:57 a.m. LeHew has run a half-mile uplake to a tributary arm lined with docks. He makes his first casts of the day to a steep bank near a gravel boat ramp with a 1/8-ounce E.R. Lures buzzbait; a black Zoom Horny Toad replaces the skirt. Light rain is falling. 7:02 a.m. LeHew switches to a Texas-rigged green pumpkin 10-inch Berkley Power Worm on the bank. 7:07 a.m. Itâs stopped raining. LeHew casts the worm to a chunk rock bank. âIâm surprised the water isnât muddier after that overnight storm. It rained buckets.â 2/16
7:12 a.m. LeHew moves into a shallow cove and chunks the buzzbait around a boathouse. 7:16 a.m. He flips a 1/2-ounce E.R. Lures jig in the Jasonâs magic color with a green pumpkin Berkley Chigger Craw trailer to the boathouse. 7:18 a.m. LeHew is moving quickly around the cove while alternating between the buzzer and jig. 7:20 a.m. He retrieves a sexy shad Berkley Choppo surface plug parallel to a seawall. âIâd hit that if I were a bass!â 7:27 a.m. LeHew runs the Choppo across a rock point. No takers. 7:32 a.m. LeHew has moved off the point and located a submerged brushpile in 10 feet of water. He tosses a 1-ounce Nichols spoon to the sunken shrubbery and jigs it repeatedly. âIâm using the LiveScope feature on my Garmin graph to pinpoint isolated cover. This technology is a total game changer.â 7:38 a.m. LeHew returns to the shoreline and continues casting the Choppo while moving at a fast clip. 7:44 a.m. LeHew cranks the Merc and begins idling around offshore while watching his electronics for submerged cover and baitfish. Thereâs a light breeze blowing out of the south.
6 HOURS LEFT7:50 a.m. After marking a few brushpile waypoints on his graph, LeHew moves toward Lake Xâs northern shore and flips two docks with the jig. 7:57 a.m. LeHew ties on a citrus shad Berkley Dredger 8.5 crankbait, casts it to a seawall and bags an 11-inch largemouth.
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8:03 a.m. LeHew moves 20 yards offshore, chunks the Dredger to one of the sunken brushpiles he waypointed and gets a solid strike. He works the fish closer, but it rolls on the surface and comes unbuttoned. âShoot, that was a 3 1/2-pounder!â 8:07 a.m. LeHew switches to a deeper-running Dredger 14.5, same color, and roots it around the brushpile. 8:10 a.m. LeHew tosses a 6-inch Roboworm in the morning dawn color on a drop-shot rig into the brushpile and shakes it repeatedly. âWhen you catch one out of a brushpile on a moving bait like that Dredger, it often puts âem on high alert, so you may have to switch to a jig or finesse worm to get another bite from that spot.â 8:14 a.m. The brushpile is 11 feet deep directly under the boat. LeHew gently shakes the Roboworm vertically around the cover. 8:36 a.m. LeHew catches a small white bass on the 14.5. âThese little guys have some nasty spines, and theyâll spike you if you arenât careful unhooking them!â
5 HOURS LEFT8:50 a.m. LeHew moves farther uplake to a submerged rockpile. He hits it with the 14.5 and the 10-inch worm but hauls water. 9:04 a.m. The sun is trying to pop out as LeHew idles around in open water, looking for sunken cover. 4/16
9:13 a.m. He cranks the 14.5 around the end of a long point and bags a huge crappie. âWhoa, thatâs a stud crappie! Fire up the fryer!â 5/16
9:22 a.m. LeHew cranks a submerged roadbed that crosses the point. âThereâs a bunch of busted-up concrete down there. Should be some bass on it.â 6/16
9:25 a.m. LeHew is marking fish on his electronics as he cranks the long point. âIâm not positive theyâre bass; they could be big crappie.â 9:34 a.m. LeHew catches a tiny largemouth off the point on the 14.5. 9:38 a.m. The wind has picked up and LeHew has dropped his Power-Poles to anchor his boat while he cranks the point. 9:42 a.m. He cranks up another white bass. âIâm getting bites, but not from the right species.â 7/16
9:48 a.m. LeHew moves to a steep channel bank adjacent to the point and flips a big laydown with the jig. 8/16
4 HOURS LEFT9:52 a.m. LeHew again pitches the jig to the laydown. His line hops, and he sets the hook and swings aboard a 2-pound, 7-ounce largemouth, his first keeper of the day. âThis fish hit right at the end of the branches that stretch out over deep water. He bit just as I was working the jig around a limb.â 10:02 a.m. LeHew switches Power Worm colors to cherry and casts the crawler around the channel bank. 10:07 a.m. LeHew moves to a nearby bank littered with fallen trees. He runs the shoreline while making short pitches with the jig and buzzbait. âYouâd think thereâd be some bass around all this wood cover, but youâd be wrong!â 10:14 a.m. LeHew zips to the opposite shoreline, where he tries the jig and Choppo around a moored pontoon boat. 10:30 a.m. The sun pops out and it instantly turns stifling hot. LeHew cranks the Dredger 8.5 around another boathouse. Whatâs his take on the day so far? âWeâre in a transitional period to begin with, but I fear my concern about the lightning spooking the fish has proven accurate. Iâve seen this happen before after a severe thunderstorm; theyâll get lockjaw and hunker down until conditions improve. The thick cloud cover is breaking up, however, so hopefully thatâll get âem going a little more. Iâve marked several brushpiles and Iâll hit some more docks, especially docks with cover around them.â 10:46 a.m. LeHew moves to the mouth of a shallow cove and cranks the Dredger 14.5 around a boat ramp.
3 HOURS LEFT10:50 a.m. Rather than retrieving the crankbait nonstop, LeHew is reeling it down to the bottom, then moving it slowly with short pulls of the rod interspersed with slow turns of the reel handle. âTheyâre really inactive, so Iâm literally feeling the plug along the bottom, then pausing once it contacts cover.â A fish taps the lure but doesnât hook up. 11:01 a.m. LeHew pauses to rig a black Bottom Hopper 6.25 finesse worm on a 1/8-ounce shaky head jig (both by Berkley). âThis is a deadly combination for probing scattered brush, laydowns, stumps and rocks.â 9/16
11:28 a.m. LeHew exits the creek arm and returns to the main lake, where he patiently idles around while eyeballing his electronics for scattered cover, baitfish and groups of bass. âIâm marking a lot of bait but most of it is suspended; the best scenario today would be to find bait clustered around scattered bottom cover in the 10- to 12-foot zone. Frankly Iâm not seeing a lot of that, but Iâm marking the waypoint every time I do see it.â
2 HOURS LEFT12:01 p.m. LeHew is back on the brushpile where he lost a good fish earlier. He hits it first with the 14.5, then with the shaky head worm. âIâm seeing a couple fish in that brush on my LiveScope.â 12:14 p.m. LeHew pitches the spoon to the brushpile. âYou want to let the spoon flutter down on a semi-tight line, then pop it with your rod the instant you feel it hit the cover. If you let it sink down into the brush too far, youâll hang up every time.â 12:17 p.m. He drops the Roboworm straight down into the brushpile and shakes it. No takers. 12:19 p.m. LeHew hangs the Roboworm in the brush, breaks it off and drops the shaky head worm into the cover. 12:23 p.m. LeHew moves to another brushpile and crawls/hops/shakes the jig through the gnarly branches. 12:31 p.m. LeHew moves to a nearby rounded point with a seawall and tries the shaky head worm. 10/16
12:35 p.m. LeHew casts the shaky head to a brushpile just off the point. A good fish picks it up; LeHew slams back his rod and the bass bolts for open water. 11/16
12:35 p.m. He plays it patiently and boats his second keeper of the day, 3 pounds, 4 ounces. 12/16
12:35 p.m. âThese brushpiles are holding good quality fish, so I just need to keep hitting âem and hopefully Iâll score a couple of giants.â
1 HOUR LEFTâ¨12:51 p.m. LeHew casts the Bottom Hopper to a small brushpile in a shoreline pocket and bags his third keeper, 1 pound, 12 ounces. 13/16
12:56 p.m. LeHew hangs up the shaky head in a dock piling and busts it off. He ties on a replacement head, switches Bottom Hopper worm colors to green pumpkin and pitches it under the dock. 1 p.m. LeHew runs the 14.5 around a seawall. 1:10 p.m. LeHew casts the shaky head to another brushpile and catches a 10-inch bass. 1:16 p.m. LeHew sticks a second fish on the same brushpile on the shaky head; it comes unbuttoned at boatside. â2-pounder.â 1:21 p.m. He hops the 10-inch worm through the brush. 14/16
1:36 p.m. LeHew chunks the green pumpkin Bottom Hopper to another nearby brushpile, feels resistance and sets the hook. 15/16
1:36 p.m. âBig fish!â He leads the bass to open water and grabs his fourth keeper of the day, a fine 4-pound, 14-ounce largemouth. 1:40 p.m. LeHew bumps the Bottom Hopper through the brush on two more casts but canât score another bite. 1:50 p.m. Timeâs up! Itâs been a fairly slow day on Lake X, but LeHew has managed to scratch out four keepers with a total weight of 12 pounds, 5 ounces.
THE DAY IN PERSPECTIVEâ¨âEven though itâs September, most of the fish in this lake are still in a midsummer mode, and last nightâs lightning storm definitely had them spooked,â LeHew told Bassmaster. âI spent a lot of time up shallow throwing topwaters and fishing docks. If I were to fish here tomorrow, Iâd spend a lot more time idling around and marking brushpiles; thatâs where the best quality fish appear to be right now.â
WHERE AND WHEN LEHEW CAUGHT HIS KEEPER BASS
1. 2 pounds, 7 ounces; 1/2-ounce E.R. Lures jig (Jasonâs magic color) with green pumpkin Berkley Chigger Craw trailer; laydown on channel bank; 9:52 a.m.
2. 3 pounds, 4 ounces; black Berkley Bottom Hopper 6.25 worm on 1/8-ounce Berkley shaky head; offshore brushpile; 12:35 p.m.
3. 1 pound, 12 ounces; same lure as No. 2; brushpile in shoreline pocket; 12:51 p.m.
4. 4 pounds, 14 ounces; same lure as No. 2 in green pumpkin; offshore brushpile; 1:36 p.m.
TOTAL: 12 POUNDS, 5 OUNCES 16/16
